Our Work
CBPATSISP Reports
The CBPATSISP produces reports on key topics related to Indigenous suicide prevention.
SEWB Gathering 5 Report
Over three days, from October 15-17 2024, SEWB network members from across Australia attended the fifth SEWBG to discuss SEWB for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. SEWG-5 was held in Tarndanya (Adelaide) on Kaurna Country, South Australia and online via Zoom. The theme for SEWBG-5 was One Health: the health of the environment, animals, and people.
The Gatherings are a vital opportunity for us to come together as a community, share our stories and experiences, and explore ways to enhance the SEWB of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through connection, kindness, and caring.
The themes and findings from the presentations
and workshops are summarised in this report.
I will no Longer Starve My Spirit or my Soul : A Mixed Methods Evaluation of the Long-term Benefits of the Culture, Social and Emotional Wellbeing Program in a Pre-release Centre in Western Australia.
This report records the 2nd delivery of the Culture, Social and Emotional Wellbeing Program in Boronia Pre-release Centre for Women and its long-term impacts on social and emotional wellbeing.
Flood Response and Recovery in Fitzroy Crossing Needs Assessment
In response to the unprecedented flooding that impacted Fitzroy Crossing town and surrounding communities in January 2023, local Aboriginal community-controlled organisation (ACCO) Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre (MWRC), through its long-standing partnership with specialist child development service Royal Far West (RFW) known as “Marurra-U”, invited UNICEF Australia to undertake a post-flood Needs Assessment with affected communities. With a shared vision to improve the lives of children and families in the Fitzroy Valley, and in line with greater awareness and concern about the current and future impacts of climate change in Aboriginal communities, the three organisations partnered on the post-flood Needs Assessment. CBPATSISP contributed to this work by ensuring the voices of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were being included.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voices Have the Solutions to Suicide Prevention: Who's listening and who's taking action?
The objective of this scoping review is to formally evaluate the uptake and influence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP) findings, recommendations, and resources to inform Primary Health Networks (PHN) commissioning and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention activities across Australia. This review identifies where implementation has been successful and provides solutions to overcome barriers to implementation by directing PHNs and peak Aboriginal bodies to areas where uptake can be increased.
Yarn Up Listen Up: Community Report of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Young People’s Perspectives on Suicide Prevention
This report includes discussions regarding what culturally appropriate resources are currently available, information relating to the most effective and accessible medium to utilise resources, and where the gaps of information are for young people who maybe seeking support for themselves or someone else.
SEWB Gathering 4 Report
The fourth Social and Emotional Wellbeing Gathering (SEWBG-4) was held 31 July to 2 August 2023, on Larrakia Country, Darwin, Northern Territory. The purpose of SEWBG-4 was to further the aims and recommendations of the previous SEWB Gatherings and to bring the SEWB network together to share insights and developments on SEWB, locally and nationally.
Coronial Responses to Suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Research Report
This research investigated how Coroners’ Courts respond to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities after losing someone to suicide. Through a literature review, interviews with Coroners and their staff, and a Lived Experience Workshop, the report makes recommendations for reforming coronial practice to improve the experiences of Indigenous people. The project was generously supported by the National Suicide Prevention Office.
Coronial Responses to Suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Report from the Lived Experience Workshop
The Lived Experience Workshop was a central element of the Coronial Responses research. This report summarises in their own words a yarning workshop with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been bereaved by suicide, and includes their ideas on how the Coroners’ Courts and processes can become more culturally responsive.
Anika Indigenous Youth Cultural Exchange Report
The generosity of the Anika Foundation and the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health has allowed UWA to organise a cultural exchange to Canada for six Aboriginal Australian Youths. In Canada, they exchanged practices and knowledge about Indigenous suicide prevention and Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB). The Anika Cultural Exchange was organised by the Centre for Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention (CBPATSISP) and the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing (TIMHWB) Research Project at the University of Western Australia.
Trauma Informed Care in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) Symposium Summary
A Trauma Informed Care in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) Symposium was held in Rubibi (Broome) on July 12, 2023. It was hosted by Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service (KAMS) and the Wellbeing Informed Care – Kimberley (WIC-K), Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing (TIMHWB) and the Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide prevention (CBPATSISP) teams. The day was generously supported by headspace National.
'Speak Up and Be Strong': The Cultural, Social and Emotional Wellbeing Program with Boronia Pre-Release Centre for Women
The high rates of incarceration and recidivism for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be attributed to a range of historical, social, economic, and systemic factors and a lack of culturally appropriate programs. The Cultural, Social and Emotional Wellbeing (CSEWB) Program is a culturally appropriate program based on the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) model, which is a strengths-based and holistic health framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This study reports the evaluation of the first delivery of the CSEWB Program within the justice system, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women at the Boronia Pre-Release Centre for Women.
SEWB Gathering 3 Report
The 3rd Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) Gathering was held in Canberra, 6th – 8th September 2022. It aimed to strengthen understandings of individual and community SEWB, with a special focus on human rights and cultural therapies, in addition to highlighting the importance of self-determination in the development of SEWB policy, workforce, and services. Click below for a full report on the gathering and interviews with various attendees.
SEWB Gathering 2 Report
Following the success of the 1st Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) Gathering, the 2nd SEWB Gathering was held in Perth, Western Australia in October 2021.
Wellbeing and Healing through Connection and Culture (2020)
In 2020, Lifeline commissioned Professor Pat Dudgeon et al to provide this evidence review.
Aboriginal Participatory action research: An Indigenous research methodology strengthening decolonisation and social and emotional wellbeing (2020)
Focusing on Indigenous wellbeing paradigms, discourses, and disciplines this discussion paper was co-authored by Professor Pat Dudgeon and published by the Lowitja Institute.
SEWB Gathering 1 Report
The 1st Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) Gathering was held in Perth, Western Australia in March 2021. The aim of the SEWB Gathering was to bring together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak bodies, community organisations, leaders, experts, and front-line workers to create a national SEWB blueprint for the future by exploring 1) where we have been, 2) where we are now, and 3) where we are going.
Developing best practice guidelines for the psychosocial assessment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people presenting to hospital with self-harm and suicidal thoughts (2020)
Developed with the Menzies School of Health Research, these evidence-based guidelines are intended to improve the quality of care and outcomes for Indigenous people who go to hospital with suicidal thoughts or behaviours.
Workshop on Challenges and Opportunities in Relation to Strengthening the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Workforce (2019)
In May 2019 the CBPATSISP co-hosted a workshop with Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Advisory Group (ATSIMHSPAG), intended to:
- share knowledge, wisdom and preferred ways of working among the existing SEWB workforce
- identify structural and practical supports to strengthen the SEWB and mental health workforces and systems
- prioritise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce at worker, organisational and systems levels
- agree on ways to strengthen and sustain the SEWB workforce.
This report details the workshop outcomes.
Roadmap to recovery: Reporting on a research taskforce supporting Indigenous responses to COVID-19 in Australia (2020)
This report to the Commonwealth Government by Group of Eight universities, which outlined an approach to ensuring the physical and mental health and wellbeing of Indigenous people during the Covid-19 pandemic, was co-authored by Professor Pat Dudgeon.
Implementing Integrated Suicide Prevention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities – A Guide for Primary Health Networks (2018)
This document supports Primary Health Networks (PHNs) to implement integrated approaches to suicide prevention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Global Overview – Indigenous Suicide Rates (2018)
This background paper presents an overview of suicide in Indigenous peoples in countries where there is a dominant White society. These countries share similar colonial histories and all but Greenland have Indigenous populations that are significantly smaller than the non-Indigenous population.
Empowerment and Accountability in Indigenous Youth Suicide Prevention – Report on Workshop Proceedings (2019)
In response to the high rate of suicide deaths among Indigenous young people and children, and the Western Australian Coroner’s report of the Inquest into the 13 Deaths of Children and Young Persons in the Kimberley Region, the CBPASTSISP co-hosted Youth Suicide Prevention workshop in Canberra in April 2019. This report details the workshop outcomes.
Implementation workshop reports: Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration Implementation Guide and the CBPATSISP Indigenous Governance Framework (2018-19)
In late 2018 and throughout 2019, the CBPATSISP and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership in Mental Health (NATSILMH) co-hosted a national series of workshops to discuss implementation of the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration and the CBPATSISP Indigenous Governance Framework. Reports on the outcomes of the workshops are listed here:
Guidelines for best practice psychosocial assessment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people presenting to hospital with self-harm and suicidal thoughts (2019)
These guidelines contain recommendations for the effective and appropriate psychosocial assessment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people presenting to hospital with self-harm and suicidal thoughts. These guidelines are important for all practitioners, and particularly non-Indigenous practitioners, to better understand their capacity to engage more responsibly with Aboriginal people.
We are not the problem, we are part of the solution: Indigenous Lived Experience Project Report (2018)
In June 2018, the CBPATSISP facilitated a workshop to investigate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lived experiences of suicide. This report details the workshop outcomes.
Aboriginal Youth Wellbeing Workshop Report (2019)
A workshop on Aboriginal youth wellbeing was held in Broome in August 2019 to inform the Western Australian Government’s response to the Learnings from the Message Stick report into youth suicide in remote areas and the Western Australian Coroner’s report of the Inquest into the 13 Deaths of Children and Young Persons in the Kimberley Region. This report details the workshop outcomes.
Indigenous Governance for Suicide Prevention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities (2018)
This is the second Guide to support Primary Health Networks (PHNs) working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations to co-design and co-implement integrated approaches to suicide prevention.
Indigenous Lived Experience of Suicide: Literature Review (2018)
This literature review informed the establishment at the Black Dog Institute of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Centre.
Projects
Project Summaries
Collaborative Projects
Project Summaries
Suicide Prevention Policy Concordance
The Suicide Prevention Policy Concordance is aimed at Indigenous communities, mental health and health services, Primary Health Networks, policy-makers, researchers and advocates interested in Indigenous suicide prevention.
It aims to assist readers navigate the many policy documents that encompass Indigenous and mainstream suicide prevention and related areas at the Commonwealth, States and Territory and community levels. This includes Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing and relevant mental health-related policy documents.
Projects
Collaborations
Research Programs
Advocacy
The CBPATSISP is Australia’s leading authority on Indigenous suicide and participates actively in policy and consultation processes to ensure that the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are understood and appropriately considered in policy, system and funding decisions at Commonwealth and State and Territory levels.
As a member of Suicide Prevention Australia the CBPATSISP seeks to influence the suicide prevention sector to be inclusive of Indigenous people in its systemic advocacy, ensuring equitable investment in Indigenous-specific suicide prevention reponses, while promoting cultural safety in mainstream programs and services.
Policy Submissions and Statements
Other Contributions
Manual of Resources for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention
The Manual is a collection of practical resources and tools that people, both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous, can use to make a real difference in promoting positive mental health and social emotional wellbeing, and preventing suicide in our communities.
Advisory Appointments
Professor Pat Dudgeon contributes expertise to a broad range of governance and advisory groups. These include:
Member: Aboriginal Family Safety Project Advisory Panel
Chair: Indigenous Statistical and Information Advisory Group
Chair: Data group for Working Party
Member: Expert Panel, WA Children and Young People Wellbeing Survey
Inaugural Chair and current Member: Steering Committee
Founding Member